Laurie's Garden Tour 2

The green bow is to keep it up. See the climbing Wisteria in the foreground.

This message was edited Feb 24, 2009 11:53 PM

This message was edited Feb 25, 2009 12:02 AM

He, he, he!

So is that the secret?

That's all it takes Steve? A little green bow! :0) I do think that James has picked a very appropriate name for his little rhody! Great pics everyone, you have all inspired me to acquire a few more rhodies.

LOl :-)

Hey all you PNW'ners! When is the peak blooming season for rhodies in your area? The news last night told of a price war among the airlines, with tickets as cheap as $39 round trip domestically. Started with AirTran and spread to the others. My wife and I might just fly out for a few days to soak up all of the beauty of your area. We've vacationed in the PNW three times, going into B.C., Canada. We just love the area. One of our goals now that we're both retired is to see the region in the spring, and hit Buchart Gardens in Victoria, B.C. while we're there. Any suggestions at to timing?

Hoosier - I'd suggest the first half of May for the peak. Early Rhodies start in April, with a few late bloomers going through the first half of June.

Everyone wants to get to Butchart, but I'm inclined to think it's way over rated. Mobs of people (including lots of bored kids running around), expensive, and over-the-top spectacle. There's nothing subtle to be found there. A couple of other garden in Victoria you might enjoy more would be Abkhazi Garden http://www.conservancy.bc.ca/content.asp?sectionack=abkhazi (my favorite up in Victoria), and the gardens surrounding Government House http://www.ltgov.bc.ca/gardens/default.htm are lovely too. Another possibility in Victoria are the gardens at Hatley Castle http://www.hatleycastle.com/

In Vancouver, don't miss the Queen Elizabeth Park gardens http://vancouver.ca/parks/parks/queenelizabeth/ or the VanDusen Botanical Gardens http://vancouver.ca/parks/parks/vandusen/website/

Around the Seattle area, there are dozens more http://davesgarden.com/products/go/advanced.php?zip_distance=25&zip=Seattle&state=wa&country=XX&type=publicgardens&search_text=&sorter=company_name&submit=Search and http://davesgarden.com/products/go/advanced.php?zip_distance=25&zip=Seattle&state=wa&country=XX&type=parks&search_text=&sorter=company_name&submit=Search

This message was edited Feb 25, 2009 8:00 AM

Not to mention all of our gardens! and Lakewold, who has a large collection of lovely and unusual rhodies.

Katie, those are chick books. I've read them all about 5 times and have several of them on mp3 file. Jamie and Claire.... mmmmmmm. I doubt Sofer has even heard of them.

Sofer, you are clearly unfamiliar with the 2nd plane beings. Leprechauns, while fairie in origin, do not do the work of plant fairies. If they did, they, too, would be toast. They are laughing at you even as we speak. Do try to be friendly. Your ace in the hole is that you love animals and are an angel to them. This is probably the only thing that has saved you thus far. Your incredible use of rocks in the garden and drinking of beer likely pleases the Leprechauns, should there be any in the United States, which I seriously doubt.

Ooii yust ear da wee ooons tinking. Dey hov squotted neath the cedur and clammored for un roft ty float our Irish Sea and squosh those meddling Oranges.

James: Thanks for the tips and garden links. We've been to the two in Vancouver, also the university gardens there, but the others are all new to me, and definitely worth a visit.

Oh, now I REALLY want to go!

And point 2, Sofer, Leprechauns are irish, highlanders are scottish. Not a good idea to mix all this up if you are doing a pub crawl - you might end up outdoors and bottom side up in very short work. James, i stamp approved to the description of tittie pink - feel free to rip it out if it gets to straggley - .

No fears about ripping out the Rhodies here, no local faeries would give the slightest nod to such an invasive import! They are all too pleased about having room made for one of our very own, seed grown (from the local parent plant) wild pear! What else could I put there than one of my beloved pears? Ahhhh, so nice.

Its also making room for the greenhouse extension - sorry, it just had to go.

The images of little green bows - geeeezzz. Money saving tips in this bad economy. LOL

What is all this talk of leprechauns and fairies? I had no idea.

Don't forget Oregon http://davesgarden.com/products/go/advanced.php?zip_distance=50&zip=Portland&state=or&country=XX&type=publicgardens&search_text=&sorter=company_name&submit=Search

Pix, Steve himself said that he like the odd chickflick. I would think that impersonating Jamie would be right up his alley. These would be great books to break the delicious solitude of the time spent at the lighthouse. In fact, the climate is just about the same. Try them out Steve.

And yes, it is hard to get Jamie out of your system. There's a push for Gerard Butler to act his part in the movie . . . but I'm not sure even Gerard Butler could do him justice.

Irish/Scottish - different yes, but they are Celts all. My ancestors came from the Isle of Colonsay and I've no doubt that they spent a fair amount of time transporting goods from one island to the other. (wink wink)

Hoosier, there are a fair number of Scots up their in the Vancouver and Victoria area. I'm thinking that explains the rhodies . . .

Katie, Love the Outlander series. Have you read a like series by Lynn Kurland? They are good also.

Patricia, why no, I haven't. I will have to check into that. Thank you!!

I would read them but I know where the sentence goes when it starts: "As he looked into her eyes he knew at that moment that they would forever........................" Just because it has a Scottish accent doesn't fool me. Now Chick Flicks make me as MAN have warm fuzzies. I remember the feelings of love found, lost, and rejected in my life. Don't show tittalations of relational emotions described in a paragraph instead of a sentence in a romance novel. I have not found romance novels fun. I though shall read one so I know how leprechans are unable to travel across the Irish Sea and exist in Scotland. After all Irish Whiskey and Scotch are very similar and would allow visualization of the little green buggers on both sides Laurie. LOL

Sofer have you read Ian McEwan? His books are very well written. 'Saturday' is one of my favorites.

Not that I know of. I don't read a lot of fiction but historical fiction. What are the stories like. I do like adventure in far off places.

ah, you like to write your own, which most never have the opportunity to do.
They are the best kind, Steve; now be mindful to tell them.
I just know you can spin a great yarn...

I also don't read a lot of fiction - it has to be really well written to hold my attention. 'Saturday' is too hard to explain but I promise you will like it. Another of his books 'Enduring Love' is also a favorite.

Didn't the Scottish settle Ireland or vice-versa? Leprechan must have gone back and forth. Or maybe they were in Ireland and never left?

You all are nuts, or I am. LOL
I got to far behind on this.

Is this the Romance Literary Society....or a Gardener's forum...? ;-> We seem to have gotten a wee bit off topic, don't cha know. I'm going to bring up garden gnomes to see if I can steer things in the right direction again.

How about some non-fiction? Looking for a complete work on Salvias.

Go Laurie! You tell Soferdig! He should probably stop while he is ahead on the entire subject of leprechauns.
Okay, you are totally forgiven for ripping out the invasive rhodies. A native pear sounds just lovely on your property, or on anyone's for that matter. And of course, a greenhouse extension is a good reason to rip out just about anything.

Katie, are you kidding that they are actually making a movie out of the Jamie/Claire books? I can't see how they could possibly do them justice, but I feel that way about good fiction anyway. I hope they don't take the 'mystery' out of the relationship by doing too many lewd scenes just for the titillation factor. That would be very irritating. So coarse, really. Everything I know about Scottish history I learned from those books. Good thing the author did her research!

James, after you've been here awhile, you'll see that the PNW forum gets off topic all the time. It's okay. We're just a lively group, we like each other and respect one another tremendously, and we enjoy the conversation. We always meander our way back to gardening. We're never too far from it.

For instance, in the Jamie/Claire series, Claire becomes a medicine woman and learns to use native plants to cure illness. See???

That's WAY funny!

Oh my goodness! Look at that rose blooming in the snow! That's a very cool photograph. Just so happens it is snowing here right now. Dam##$ I have to go out and cover the agave!

How can that rose be so perfect in the snow!! Not to mention blooming!!

I want to know how you all find time to read? Of course if I gave up knitting, crocheting and tatting, I'd have time too.LOL

I have a long commute - over an hour of bus time either way. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't sit down to read at all. Well, except for gardening magazines, books and catalogs. LOL

Those don't count. LOL

An hour each way? I could get a lot of tatting done.

It's good, except when the gas prices go up and it's standing room only. Summer is especially great because fewer people commute. People aren't nearly as chatty as they were 25 years ago when I used to commute on the bus. It's all about iPods, now.

Seems like people are afraid to talk to strangers, maybe they don't want to offend or something. And if it's not iPods, it's texting! I'm still chatty and get some of the strangest looks. LOL

I think people are just overwhelmed with the stress of their everyday lives and see the bus or train as 'downtime'. I'm trying to remember when the last time was that I actually read anything other than gardening or horticulture books. I think it was on vacation last summer. But I listen to books on my mp3 player all the time. I go through a lot of books that way.

Kayte which exit to the restaurant tomorrow? The first or second exit to Issaquah?

I really think we're just more into ourselves. People are texting, talking on the phone (how many times do I hear, "yeah, I'm on the bus. See you in 20 minutes at the xxx."?), playing on the computer. Of course, I take a route that shuttles a lot of people and runs every 10 minutes, so there isn't the local bus camarederie there might be otherwise.

I actually asked a guy playing a video game (with the sound on) to mute it tonight. He had a true mohawk and double piercings in his nose and lips. If I hadn't been tired and had a headache, he might have intimidated me. Instead, he just said, "sure," and turned it down.

Steve - it's exit 15, which, by definition, is the first exit to Issy.
You'll turn right at the end of the exit. Since there are 2 right turn lanes, you'll want to be in lane that is most to the left, as this will allow you to turn left at the first signal which is Gilman. Take the first left on Gilman into the Meadows shopping center (QFC), and head for the back to the left.
whew! that sounds complicated even though it's not...

You all have a great visit. Wish I were there.

I think the most memorable conversation I have had on a bus with someone I didn't know was in Olympia about 25 years ago.I was babysitting a 2 year old boy (babies are great conversation starters). A young woman in a mechanized wheelchair got on the bus. I think she had cerebral palsy. I was sitting opposite her with the stroller, and my little fellow was immensely interested in the wheelchair. It was clear to me that the young woman couldn't answer him verbally, so I started to explain. Then she started doing something with a contraption on the wheelchair and out came a little strip of paper with a message from her printed on it, something like..."Hello, my name is...What's yours?" We had a great conversation, back and forth. It took a long time for her to print out short messages, but we had plenty of time on the long bus ride. that was the first time I realized what doors of communication could be opened by computer technology.